The Taliban regime that controls most of Afghanistan are willing to discuss extraditing wanted terrorist Usama bin Laden — as long as he goes to a country other than the United States
Published:
18 September 2001 y., Tuesday
The Taliban regime that controls most of Afghanistan are willing to discuss extraditing wanted terrorist Usama bin Laden — as long as he goes to a country other than the United States, said a Pakistani government source Tuesday, hours after the Taliban urged Afghans to be prepared for a holy war.
The Taliban's conditions included international recognition of the Taliban government and the lifting of U.N. sanctions against the war-ravaged country, said the anonymous Pakistani official.
Only three nations — Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates — recognize the Taliban as the legitimate government of Afghanistan. U.N. sanctions have been in place since the Taliban refused to hand over bin Laden in connection with the 1998 bombings of the U.S. embassies in Kenya and Tanzania.
No agreement was reached at Monday's meeting at the Taliban's headquarters in the western Afghan city of Kandahar, said the official. But the delegation from Pakistan, until last week the Taliban's closest ally, delivered a simple message: Either hand over bin Laden, suspected of being behind the attacks on New York City and Washington, D.C., last Tuesday, or be attacked by an international military force led by the United States.
President Bush put it even more bluntly Monday afternoon: "I want justice," he said. "There's an old poster out West that said: 'Wanted, dead or alive.'"
The Pakistani delegation, led by top officials in Pakistan's intelligence service, returned home Tuesday, after meeting with eight foreign aid workers detained since last month on charges of illegally promoting Christianity. Pakistan asked that the two Americans, four Germans and two Australians be released, and the Taliban said they would consider the request, according to the Pakistani official.
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